WEALTH at work conducted a recent survey to determine the approaches and opinions of the UK’s largest companies in relation to the financial well-being of its employees. In particular, part of the survey examined the role of financial education for those retiring.
68% of those companies surveyed already provide financial education prior to retirement.
However, 76% of companies think that
financial education is set to increase of which 100% of the FTSE100 companies
surveyed agreed.
Jonathan Watts-Lay, Director of
WEALTH at work comments, "Demand suggests that the provision of
financial education is on the increase. Many of our corporate clients view the
provision of
financial education at retirement as the cornerstone of the support they offer to
employees. An increasing trend is for retirement based
financial education to be scheduled well in advance of retirement – in some cases
five years or more prior to the anticipated retirement date".
This was an attitude confirmed by 57% of FTSE100 companies who responded to the survey.
With regards to pension contributions, 74% of respondents agreed that employee contributions
are likely to increase over the next ten years but in contrast 40% expect that employer
contributions will be higher. However, this indicates that pensions will still remain at the core
of long term savings provision.
Jonathan Watts - Lay added "With pension contributions likely to
increase and so many retirement income options available, this reflects the need to make employees
aware of the issues surrounding saving for retirement. After all, the financial decisions an
employee takes at retirement could be the most important of their life and they are often
irreversible, so it is absolutely crucial that financial education is included in any retirement
planning programme".
Please see the 'Financial education is a cruical element of retirement planning' PDF attached.
